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What People Say About Us

Don't take our word for it. Find out why people like you come along to Reach workshops and how it's changed stuff for them.

Relly

Primary school wasn’t easy and everything felt really different to what I’d been used to. Moving from New Zealand to Australia had been a huge culture shock. I grew up in south Auckland and moved to the western suburbs of Sydney with my family when I was eight.

At high school things started to change. I played a lot of sport, my grades were decent and I found a pretty solid group of friends. But by the end of Year 9, my friends and I had gotten mixed up in a fair bit of trouble, so Reach kind of came along at just the right time.

I was in Year 10 and we had one of the Reach crew come out to my school to run a workshop. I found it awkward at first, but was also just curious to see what it was all about.

The workshop brought up a lot of emotion for everybody. It was challenging and I hadn’t done anything like it before, but I ended up loving every minute. Since that first session, I’ve done heaps of different workshops outside of school.

It’s been good to have an outlet where I can get things off my chest, instead of channelling it into doing stupid stuff that gets me in trouble. I think that’s a big problem for young people in society – they don’t have an outlet to talk about stuff that’s going on for them.

Reach has helped me change my attitude to life in a really good way. I’m more passionate about the things I love, I don’t hesitate to give things a crack, and I’ve learnt to express myself more.

Imogen

I think society can sometimes undervalue the opinions of young people. When I was growing up, I was a pretty emotional person and always had a lot to say. I come from a loving and supportive family, but one that doesn’t express their feelings a lot. Because of that, I never really had an outlet to explore how I felt or what I was thinking – and that was definitely hard. That’s why Reach became such an important part of my life.

I started out at Reach by doing a Fused workshop in Redfern. I was 15 and full of attitude. I was a bully at my school and often felt misunderstood. It was a time when I felt angry and shut off from the world.

I only went to the workshop to complete my community service hours for school. I remember feeling super cynical about the whole thing. But by the end of the workshop I’d kinda grown to like it. It was the first place I’d ever seen people be so honest about what was going on for them. It was cool to see people ‘unfiltered’ – and I reckon it’s why I keep coming back.

Reach workshops make me see the world a bit differently, and they’ve given me a bunch of tools to use for life. I’ve met people that I never would have crossed paths with otherwise and it’s kind of popped the bubble that I’d been living in.

Most people don’t get the chance to talk freely about what really matters to them without being worried about what others will think. Reach gave me a space to be heard and for my opinions to be valued.

Tao

Growing up, I guess I was just a private school kid who took things at face value. I was a sporty dude, and always pretty social, so my teenage years were fairly easygoing.

My Dad had been asked to go along to Camp Maasai – a weekend away that brings together teenagers and adults from the corporate world. I was asked to go but I really didn’t want to. I had this idea that you had to have serious issues or whatever to go to Reach. I eventually conceded to go, and I was totally into it straight away.

It was completely different to what I expected – I was blown away by the stories I heard and the people I met. It made me see the world differently, and taught me to never judge a book by its cover. Above all, it was a pretty steep learning curve for me. It reminded me that despite how things might seem, you don’t always know what’s going on for people.

What I love about Reach is that it’s not just done out of a textbook like school. There’s something in it for everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from. As a teenager, I felt like I was just an ordinary kid, trying to fit in like everyone else. But when I came to Reach, people really celebrated me for who I was. It’s made me more confident and open as a person.

Abbey

I grew up on Sydney’s North Shore and have lived there my entire life. Being surrounded by the same type of people every day can make you lose a bit of perspective on life, and it’s easy to get caught up on trivial things that don’t really matter.

After doing a Reach workshop at school, I was invited to go to a Leadership Day with ten other girls from Year 9. I felt totally out of my comfort zone at the start of the day, but actually really enjoyed it by the end. It was so different to anything I’d ever done before. It gave me a chance to meet other people that I probably wouldn’t have met in my day-to-day life. What I loved most was listening topeople from other backgrounds share their experiences and stories, because it opened up my mind to what else is out there.

While I feel really lucky to go to such a great school and have awesome friends, I think Reach gives me something I can’t always get from them. It’s true when they say we ‘talk about real sh*t’.

The workshops are done in a way that’s really cool. The space is always changing, and the crew are there because they actually care. It lets me get away from the busyness of life and take time to breathe, reflect and think. I always walk away having learnt something new about myself or other people.

Maddy

I grew up in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne and go to a local high school. I’m not really an academic kid – I guess I never have been. I’ve always tried learning as best I can, but the school system isn’t for everyone.

School’s not bad for me now, but I had a pretty tough time in Year 9. I suffered from depression and anxiety, and I started not rocking up to class. Mum was the one who got me along to Reach. I hadn’t done anything like it before but was happy to give it a crack.

I started out doing Fused workshops in Frankston, and have now been involved for over a year. At Reach you have fun while expressing your feelings. Everyone made me feel right at home from the first moment in, and accepted me for who I was. I guess what makes it different is that you can be your real self without judgement –from others or yourself. The agreement amongst the group to not judge each other creates that real sense of openness and honesty.

Reach encourages me to be who I am and to do what I love, which is working with my hands. So, alongside my VCAL studies at school, I’m also completing my Building & Construction apprenticeship at TAFE. I don’t really mind being one of the only girls. I get to do what I love and the boys don’t give me sh*t about that.

Reach not only helped me through my depression, it just helped me through growing up.

Kata

I moved from Budapest to Australia with my family when I was three years old. I grew up in Bondi and have lived by the beach my whole life.

I guess high school was pretty easy for me. I wouldn’t put myself in the ‘popular’ group – I was more a creative type, and spent a lot of time doing Art and Drama.

I discovered Reach and got to participate in one of the first ever Fused workshops in NSW.

It was different to anything I’d done before, and felt really special. The workshops made me realise that everything I was feeling was okay, and that I didn’t need to shy away from any emotion.

I learnt that I can be really authentic, and now I don’t see any other way of being.

Reach is really cool. It makes young people feel less alone. And that’s important.

Alex

I grew up in western Sydney, was raised by my grandparents, and remember thinking my whole life was an uphill battle. I felt like an outcast because I didn’t have parents who loved me.

At school I felt different and I acted as the class clown. Reach came to my school and they picked me out in front of the whole year – I was being a smart-arse.

I didn’t feel comfortable in that first workshop, but then a friend got me along to a Reach camp. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.

I’d never really felt comfortable sharing my story. That camp was the first place that I ever got to open up and speak honestly. I showed a side of me that I hadn’t ever shown before. I realised I’d been hiding behind the ‘clown’ act – and I started to think: “why should I try to be someone I’m not?”

I’ve embraced being different. It sounds corny but I reckon Reach helped me have the confidence to be who I want to be. It’s given me self-belief.

I had potential but I was wasting it. Now I see clearly what I want to do. I want to make music, and I want to help young people with similar backgrounds to me.

Telaine

I guess growing up my life wasn’t the usual life a person would live. My parents got separated, I lived with my grandparents which was pretty tough, and I then moved out of home at 14.

I was a bully in high school. I got expelled from seven different schools, and spent some time in a juvenile justice centre.

When I went along to my first Reach program at 17, I didn’t want to explore my emotions or anything like that – it’s just not what we talked about where I came from.

I know it sounds clichéd, but that first Reach workshop changed my life. It gave me a different perspective, and I got something out of it that I had never gotten out of life before.

I’ve always wanted to work with young people, and now working at Reach allows me to give back to something that gave so much to me.

Bryce

I was troubled in year 9. I just didn't like school and how the teachers treated me. I had depression – I think that started because my dad died when I was seven and it stuffed up my schooling. My mum was raising three boys on her own.

I went to a Reach program called Grounded a couple of times. I liked it and then I was invited to try-out for crew training.

It gave me the opportunity to explain my story in an environment where people understood. It also taught me that the more you open up, the better it is, because there are heaps of kids with the same problems.

Mum says she likes the new Bryce because I’m not always angry and have calmed down and all that.

Reach helped me get my confidence back and taught me not to be afraid of being judged. Now I’ve got a better life and have built my relationships with my family.

Steph

I used to be a reserved, scared, lost teenager who was battling with herself. I didn’t like new environments or talking to people I didn’t know.

At Reach I learnt a new perspective – I realised that I needed to stop relying on other people’s approval to feel comfortable in myself.

The workshops have taught me lessons and values that I can now apply in my life. Now, I can see my role in the world and why I’m important. It’s like I don’t think of myself as just a person anymore; but as a person who’s going out into the world and doing something.

That used to be something that really scared me. I still have moments of doubt, but now I have trust in myself and no longer struggle with those old issues.

The confidence and curiosity I have shows me how far I have come. I wouldn’t say there was a turning point, I feel like it has been a continuous journey, a constant lesson.

Josh

My first introduction to Reach was a School Workshop – and I remember being really pissed off about it.

The last thing I wanted to do was sit in a room for two hours and talk about emotions, so I just kept hassling the guy running it.

To my surprise, I actually started to really engage with it. For the first time in my life, they started asking me real questions.

I suppose I was kind of classified as a bully or a smart-arse, and no one had ever actually asked me honest questions before about my life, or who I was.

It was the start of Year 12, and it was a time in my life where I felt like I was looking for something a bit more.

When I got invited to become crew, I didn’t really know what it meant – but I knew that I just wanted to be around Reach.

As a crew member, I get the opportunity to inspire greatness in other young people, and to simply see people for everything that they are. It’s awesome.

Georgia

I started Reach when I was 14. I was confident in some areas, but also kind of focused on the negative – I felt like a blank canvas waiting for something to affect me.

I came from a really good, encouraging and loving family. There is a misconception that to be at Reach you have to be sad, confused or unhappy, but a lot of it is about celebrating your achievements and the good things you do.

Two years ago I started The Blossoming Thought Project – it’s a project that asks people to write notes or positive signs and stick them up around the city they live in. The goal is to build connections between strangers. The project is a collection of all my personal values manifested into something I’m passionate about.

At Reach, I’ve been affirmed for my strengths and qualities. It doesn’t happen often enough in our society.

I feel like I’ve been taught the skills to dream big. That’s one of the main things Reach has taught me – that I can do anything that I want and if I work at it, anything is possible.